Tales of Joujouka
Encyclopedia
Tales of Joujouka is a book by the Moroccan painter Mohamed Hamri
(1932 - 2000) containing eight stories featuring the legends, folkore and Sufi origins myths and rituals of the Master Musicians of Joujouka. These are the stories and legends of Hamri's native village of Joujouka or Jajouka
in Morocco
, famous for its connections with the Beat Generation
and Brian Jones
founder of the Rolling Stones.
in Santa Barbara, California
. The editor was Edouard Roditi
. It was the last of thirty five chapbook
s in a series which also included Anaïs Nin
, Raymond Carver
, Lawrence Durrell
and Henry Miller
. Hamri was the only Moroccan published in the series.
It is a collection of the tales and legends of the village of Jajouka
and its musicians, the Master Musicians of Joujouka. The book includes "The Legend of Boujeloud" which relates the origin myth for the Master Musicians of Joujouka and their association with the deity Pan
. The story "The Cultivator with Lions and Healer of Crazy Minds" is an account of Sidi Ahmed Scheich's first encounter with the musicians ancestors c.800 AD. He is the Sufi saint who founded the village. Translation from the original Maghrebi is by Blanca Nyland.
Morocco
produced a new edition of the book which contained an introduction and three extra tales.
Mohamed Hamri
Mohamed Hamri , commonly known as Hamri, was a self-described Painter of Morocco. He was a Moroccan painter and author and one of the few Moroccans to participate in the Tangier Beat scene....
(1932 - 2000) containing eight stories featuring the legends, folkore and Sufi origins myths and rituals of the Master Musicians of Joujouka. These are the stories and legends of Hamri's native village of Joujouka or Jajouka
Jajouka
Jajouka, Joujouka or Zahjoukah is a village in the Ahl-Srif mountains in the southern Rif, Morocco. The mountains are named after the Ahl-Srif tribe who populate the region.-The musical heritage:...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, famous for its connections with the Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
and Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
founder of the Rolling Stones.
The Book
Tales of Joujouka was first published in 1975 by the Capra PressCapra Press
Capra Press was a Santa Barbara, California-based independent publishing house which has produced works by authors such as Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Raymond Carver, Ray Bradbury, Gretel Ehrlich, Ursula K...
in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. The editor was Edouard Roditi
Edouard Roditi
Édouard Roditi was an American poet, short-story writer and translator. He was born in Paris and subsequently studied in France, England, Germany and the USA. He published several volumes of poetry, short stories, and art criticism...
. It was the last of thirty five chapbook
Chapbook
A chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
s in a series which also included Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
, Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
, Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
and Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
. Hamri was the only Moroccan published in the series.
It is a collection of the tales and legends of the village of Jajouka
Jajouka
Jajouka, Joujouka or Zahjoukah is a village in the Ahl-Srif mountains in the southern Rif, Morocco. The mountains are named after the Ahl-Srif tribe who populate the region.-The musical heritage:...
and its musicians, the Master Musicians of Joujouka. The book includes "The Legend of Boujeloud" which relates the origin myth for the Master Musicians of Joujouka and their association with the deity Pan
Pan (mythology)
Pan , in Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, as well as the companion of the nymphs. His name originates within the Greek language, from the word paein , meaning "to pasture." He has the hindquarters, legs,...
. The story "The Cultivator with Lions and Healer of Crazy Minds" is an account of Sidi Ahmed Scheich's first encounter with the musicians ancestors c.800 AD. He is the Sufi saint who founded the village. Translation from the original Maghrebi is by Blanca Nyland.
Limited Edition
The original edition was printed with a card cover. 50 numbered and signed hardbound copies were also published in 1975.New Edition
In 2003 The Black Eagle Press in TangierTangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
produced a new edition of the book which contained an introduction and three extra tales.
See also
- Joujouka Black EyesJoujouka Black EyesJoujouka Black Eyes is a CD by Moroccan Sufi trance musicians Master Musicians of Joujouka. It was released in May 1995 on Sub Rosa Records. It was produced by Frank Rynne and includes the song "Brian Jones Joujouka very Stoned" written by Joujouka born painter Mohamed Hamri. This song commemorates...
- BoujeloudBoujeloud (album)Boujeloud is a CD by the Moroccan Sufi trance musicians Master Musicians of Joujouka.-Album details:It was released in September 2006 on Sub Rosa Records. It was produced by Frank Rynne under the direction of Mohamed Hamri. The group on this CD includes veteran Joujouka musician Mujehid Mujdoubi...
- Brion GysinBrion GysinBrion Gysin was a painter, writer, sound poet, and performance artist born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.He is best known for his discovery of the cut-up technique, used by his friend, the novelist William S. Burroughs...
- William S. BurroughsWilliam S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
- Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...